RED ( Twisted Forbidden Tales) Book Two

Side Effects

Walden

Three weeks later…………………..

The way Ria’s friend, Bo, kept staring at me made me a bit uncomfortable. Was I that scary? I mean my hair had grown longer, covering up my face somewhat and I was currently caked in mud and debris with possible injuries, but it wasn’t that bad. Plus, Ria was also looking worse for wear after that fall. I mean, who wouldn't?

“Uh, hello….earth to Bo..” Ria jokingly said as she waved her hand in front of Bo’s face. Ria’s actions must have worked. Bo shook her head as if coming out of a daze and blinked her eyes a few times.

“Right, the meeting,” Bo responded, then righted her footing and led the way down the path I had just noticed was there. Ria put my arm around her shoulder to help me navigate my way without experiencing too much pain.

“The route has a spell cast over it. If you hadn’t admitted or meant us harm, it wouldn’t have shown itself to you,” she said as if knowing what I was about to ask.

I nodded my head in understanding. Her other arm was around my waist to give support. She felt warm like home, but how could I differentiate, not ever truly knowing what a home was only deceit.

“We are still early, so I’ll take you to the infirmary when we get there. You can shower and change and I’ll tend to your wounds afterward. “ she said as she continued to fill me in.

“What are you? A doctor or something?” I asked as she said she would tend to my wounds. I was quite curious.

“Or something,” she answered, then she glanced at me and winked with a smile. That gave my heart a jump and I nearly tripped, making her stop walking and Bo turn back and help assist me.

“Seriously, Ria,” Bo said, with both her eyebrows raised as she stared at her friend.

“What, I couldn’t help it, he’s too cute,” Ria said, and they kept conversing like I wasn’t there. Did she just admit to flirting with me? And why did it feel like my face was on fire now? I was no stranger to flirting. In fact, I was the king of flirting, but everything about this Ria woman outright flustered me.

“Honestly though, Mr. Walden, I’m a doctor. So from here on out just call me Dr. Ria.” she winked at me again after saying that. If this was a different situation, I would definitely take her up on some doctor and patient privileges.

“Oh… My… God!” Bo, exclaimed out loud at Ria, abruptly dropping my other arm and walking away. Leaving Ria and me standing there. Ria laughed out loud, watching as her friend walked ahead.

“It’s a good thing we are here,” she said and she motioned with her head for me to look ahead.

At first, I couldn’t see anything but a thick eerie fog. It gave chills down one spine, warning them to stay away and not come any closer. The fog surrounded us as if it were alive.

“Don’t be afraid, Mr. Walden, it’s just testing you,” Ria said completely calmly as she held on to me while the fog blinded us.

The fog soon began to fade and with it the eerily chills. My sight was completely blinded, but as I blinked my vision became clearer and I began to see what had been hiding before me.

I had yet to understand the extent of the damage that was done within the Dark Woods as a result of many side effects caused by the Forbidden Spell. This place would take some getting used to and would make things much harder to find my family.

The Medieval Style Inn stood majestically regal with modern-style houses on each side of it. It was weird but not weird at the same time.

“Is this?” I asked, the confusion written all over my face.

“Yup.” Ria's one-word answer floored me. She guided me inside the place among the several wide-eyed stares and gasps coming from the people who resided there. I could tell from some of their scents that they were wolves like me, but not a Night Wolf. This baffled me. Weren’t Night Wolves the only wolves in existence? Obviously, Christine’s lies knew no limits.

“To the infirmary.” Ria gave an order to a man up ahead. He nodded then quickly returned with some type of chair with wheels. He pushed the weird-looking chair in front of me, motioning for me to sit in it. Even if I could barely walk, I could still move my legs, this thing before me was simply too much.

The man smiled at me, but he didn’t speak. He glanced at Ria where she whispered something while rapidly moving her hands. The man responded by moving his hands as well. He nodded once again, then left us, leaving the creepy chair there.

“You can call this, as you see it, a wheel chair,” Ria said, pointing at the chair.

“It’s for patients with limited mobility, to help them get around easily with a helper. In your case, you are patient and I am your helper,” she explained.

The expression on my face made her laugh out loud. “Don’t tell me Mr. Walden, a man as big, tall, and strong as you can surely take on a simple chair like this. I promise you it is safe and should anything happen I will take full responsibility.”

Ria held two fingers up in the air. I had no idea what she meant as she smiled at me. Well, I was a man and I didn’t want anyone thinking I was weak, so I bucked up, and slowly sat my ass on the monstrosity of a chair she called a wheel chair. It didn’t wheel me off to my death like I thought it would and I let out a breath of relief.

Ria placed her hands on the weird bars on the back of the chair and then touched something at the bottom of the chair near the wheel and it began to move. I almost lost it. Things with wheels terrified me. I didn’t even use carriages back in the Forbidden Forest. If it was walking distance, I walked, if I needed to travel, I rode a horse.

I kept it all in, that was until we reached a metal door. Images flashed through my mind, quickly disappearing before I could grasp what it was. A ringing sound came from above the door, then the metal door began to move. Ria walked us inside the small space behind the door and pressed a number pad on the side of the wall. The doors closed, and then the small space moved. The images in my mind began to resurface again, bringing intense pain with them.

My hands gripped the sides of the chair hard. The sound of something breaking could be heard, but the pain was building as the memory fought to break through. My vision was blurry, so many voices were in my head. My chest felt tight and I was barely able to breathe. I could faintly hear Ria calling out to me, but I was too engrossed in the pain I was feeling. My claws unexpectedly extended, and a pain-filled gasp from Ria was clear. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her. Something was pulling me down deeper into the memory, but I had to find a way back. I couldn’t let myself lose control.